Wiggy's Lamilite

[Daryl and Daryl]

In the e-mail I’ve copied below Wiggy’s claims that their Lamilite sleeping bags and garments are unaffected by water, unaffected by compression and can be dried with body heat. Do you think these claims are true and do you think Lamilite is better than other synthetic insulation?
May 27, 2016 07:33 am

SURVIVALIST PREPPER INDIVIDUALS

Since the activity that arose in 1999 because many believed that we would have a problem of many dimensions going into the year 2000 companies that sold to the survivalist prepper market place sold many Wiggy’s bags. I appreciated their opening the door for Wiggy’s to become a supplier of bags to that market place. Over the years our presence has increased.

One aspect of all of the products made at Wiggy’s that sets Wiggy’s apart from all other companies that make or market similar products is the performance characteristics of our exclusive insulating medium known as Lamilite.

To start with is its primary characteristic that sets it apart completely from all other forms of insulation is the fact that it can be compressed and left in that condition for an unknown amount of time without losing its insulating capability when finally released from its compressed state. I know this to be true because Wiggy’s is the only supplier of vacuum packed survival kits to the US Air Force as well as any other military organization in the USA or other government agency that has a need for vacuum packed sleeping bags, etc. Wiggy’s has also supplied civilian companies such as those in the oil industry. They have purchased vacuum packed sleeping bags to be carried in their trucks in the event the truck breaks down and the crew is stranded where rescue so to speak is not immediate. Wiggy’s has also sold many individuals who venture into the back country who also want the protection in the event their mode of transportation is compromised. It could be an airplane, boat, car, or snow machine to mention a few.

As for survivalists and preppers Wiggy’s has sold numerous bags that are not vacuum packed (probably because of the cost; $175.00 per bag) but because the Wiggy’s bags can be left in their compression stuff sacks compressed probably indefinitely. That holds true for any and all Wiggy’s products that contain Lamilite insulation, such as all of our clothing items… If it does not lose its insulating capability after being released from a packing process that puts it under 20,000 pounds of pressure it will certainly not lose any resilience from a human compressing it in a compression stuff sack.

The second characteristic about Lamilite that also sets it apart from all other forms of insulation is the mere fact that it is totally unaffected by water in any of its forms. Lamilite does not absorb water such as down does and it is not weighted down as other forms of polyester fiberfill are. I believe that is because the other forms of polyester fiberfill are bonded with chemical binders that originally were mixed in liquid and then dried in an oven. Once water is re-introduced it is absorbed weighing down the fiber. Not necessarily to the same extent as down is weighted down.

It is also known if a Wiggy Lamilite insulated product does get wet the insulating capability of the Lamilite is not compromised and if a bag is slept in of a garment is worn the users body heat dries the bag or garment.

There is what appears to me to be more television programs about people who are engaged in the desire to be prepared for any form of emergency situation that may come up.

They show bug out bags as well as food bags with a myriad of items to support life for a short period of time.

All I can say is these folks need the best most durable products they can get that are unaffected by environmental conditions and that is what Wiggy’s offers.

Wiggy’s News & Commentary » are you a survivalist or prepper?

are you a survivalist or prepper?

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Duplicate deleted – Roger

 

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

I think I never saw it mentioned but Lamilite is now their name for one of the Climashield insulations: http://www.wiggys.com/why-lamilite-insulation/

[James holden]

looks like climashield treated for more water resistance

dead bird does something similar with the insulation for their belay parkas …

whatever your thoughts on the product he does make everything in the MURICA  …. and proudly

http://www.denverpost.com/2014/07/24/wiggys-founder-shouts-gospel-of-lamilite-from-grand-junction-factory/

of course his thoughts on down sleeping bags means hes the BPL anti-christ

course non-BPLers have their own thoughts …

I have used on of the Dual Bag sets on the last 9 hunts here in AK. I have had them on Sheep/Caribou/Goat/Bear hunts, that has taken me from one end of the state to the other. I have used them on Float trips, fly-out hunts and walk till your feet bleed sheep hunts. These bags are bar none the finest piece of gear I have added to my inventory EVER. I have compacted those bags to next to nothing using a shop press and an industrial vaccum system and the extreme compression did nothing to the effectiveness of the sleeping bags. I have slept in these bags in soaking wet clothes and woke up bone-dry. I recently went to Kodiak last week and was wet as hell the whole time, I would put other wet clothing in between the two bags and they were also dry for the next morning use. I dumped my raft on a recent float trip in the Alaska Range for sheep and my bag was soaking ass wet(put all yer stuff in waterproof bags no matter how far you float), I wrang out the bag as best I could and went to sleep no problems, inside of the bag was dry as a bone 3.5 hours later, outside was till wet but who cares. The outer bag makes a huge difference in warmth when both bags are used together. My hunting partner has the exact same set-up and is equally impressed.

I have a garage full of stuff that isn’t worth a **** and I would be just as happy to tell you about that stuff. Meaning, I have bought and used many thousands of dollars worth of gear that wasn’t worth a crap before I found the right stuff. My assesments of the Wiggy’s bags aren’t made just to justify my purchase. I knowingly head into dicey hunts on a fairly regular basis, and the gear I take along could very well be the difference in life and death. I trust Wiggy’s bags to keep me safe.

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/4833-Wiggy-s-sleeping-bags

 

;)

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Wiggy’s/Wigulow is just … :D :P

[Daryl and Daryl]

Sorry for pasting the narrative twice. Human error.  [Fixed – Roger]

Don’t see any way to correct my human error. Frustrating.

Hope I’m writing what I think I’m writing in this reply. I can barely read the words because the text is so faint. Had same problem when I was typing the original post.

[Roger Caffin]

Sounds like 90% marketing spin (on turbo) and 10% Climashield to me.
That sort of over-the-top hype always amuses me. Barnum & Bailey all over again.

Cheers

 

[Justin Baker]

What is it about his insulation that makes it more resistant to compression? That is what he fails to mention. Or I want to see an independent test on his insulation with other insulations that involves repeat compression.

[Bob Moulder]

I once owned a Wiggys bag in the late 1990s and was not happy with it and was able to return it for a refund, albeit not without considerable effort and an earnest discussion with Jerry Wigutow himself.

The bags are very heavy (I think the one I had was rated to -20°F) and weighed maybe ~7lbs and required a heavy duty compression stuff sack and the force of a house jack to get it small enough to fit into my giant McHale Alpine pack. It didn’t have a draft collar and didn’t work for me. I can’t say anything about the longevity of the insulation under compression because I didn’t own it long enough to find out.

Suffice to say, MVHO is that I sincerely don’t believe there’s anything of interest there for the UL community.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I received the following info from Luke F via a personal message:

Lamilite is basically polarguard classic, it is a 5ish denier polyester fiber coated with silicon (like most climashield I believe) and much different then the CS apex we are all used to (heavier, less loft, tougher). Best estimate on CLO is .6 /oz, and he generally uses a 70d shell fabric and #10 tooth zips so he is not going to be winning any warmth/weight contests. He also refuses to put in neck baffles which really hurts his cold weather performance.
By all accounts it is more durable then nearly any synthetic insulation on the market, but part of that is that it starts out less efficient so by the time the new fancy stuff degrades it might not be much worse.
He hot glues the insulation to a 30d liner fabric which does eliminate the need for quilting but probably adds weight as well. I have some virgin 6oz lamilite I bought off wiggy if anyone is curious enough to request a loft measurement.
My plan is to make some garments and maybe a quilt out of it with some lighter shell fabrics and see how it competes with my DIY Apex quilt, but mostly just expecting a super durable low efficiency product. Won’t really know till I separate lamilite from Wiggy’s eccentricities though…

[Richard Nisley]

Daryl,

His insulation was designed for and is primarily used for furniture stuffing. If you have a boat, vehicle, or horse to transport it, then it is a viable option.

[Roger Caffin]

His insulation was designed for and is primarily used for furniture stuffing.

OUCH!

Cheers

[Bob Moulder]

furniture stuffing

It all makes sense now.

[Kris]

Daryl and Daryl,

Your forum name makes me smile with memories of three brothers in a Vermont inn so I hope this is useful information for you.  I think Wiggy’s bags perform as advertised.

10th Special Forces Group is the Army’s high-altitude, cold-weather special operations unit.  So 10th Group gets issued a lot of equipment that the other units don’t get – things like small dustpans to collect frozen condensation in a tent; MSR WhisperLites to boil snow; and Wiggy’s sleeping bags to deal with extreme cold.  However, keep in mind that my information is dated.  I switched Groups after 9/11 and 3rd Group used the standard issue Army sleep system so my direct experience with Wiggy’s is about 15 years out of date now.  I have no idea if 10th Group is still using Wiggy’s, but at least when I was there, 10th Group had concluded there was no better bag for our purposes.  I actually called 10th Group last month to see which tent was being issued.  I wish I had asked about sleeping bags too.

I agree with some of what has been mentioned in this thread and some differs from my experience.  Wiggy’s bags are heavy and not very compressible.  They are warm and will perform well when wet.

“He also refuses to put in neck baffles which really hurts his cold weather performance.”

No, it doesn’t.  My issued Wiggy’s kept me warm in temps below -20 F.

“If you have a boat, vehicle, or horse to transport it, then it is a viable option.”

This is my conclusion, as well.  At 10th Group, we had pulks called Akhios that we used to carry gear so the size of the Wiggy’s wasn’t a problem.  However, I wouldn’t want to carry a Wiggy’s in a backpack.  The sleeping bag is just too big.  But it’s probably worth pointing out that Wiggy’s bags seem to be the most popular at the Rokslide internet forum.  So people are using Wiggy’s bags for backpack hunting trips.

I bought my mother a Wiggy’s last winter for car camping.  It’s a bag that I knew would keep her warm.  I think that kind of sums up my impression of them.  I trust them to keep my elderly mother comfortable but only want to transport the bag with my truck.

Kris

[Michael Sirofchuck]

Warm, heavy, and bulky.  Great for car camping, horse packing, sherpa support.

 

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